August 12, 2012

Where's My Chopsticks?

I found a recipe I was dying to try on Pintrest from Life as a Lofthousefor baked Sweet & Sour Chicken. And while it sounded fantastic, I didn't like the idea of frying the chicken first for a couple of reasons. One, I never have luck with a cornstarch breading to fry and two, I didn't want the added fat of frying the meal.

So I made this a lighter way and it was SO easy and so fantastic. We coupled it with our favorite homemade hibachi style fried rice I make and some stir-fry veggies.

This had such a fantastic flavor and was so easy to make. It has already been made a few times in our house. It also certainly is a great substitute for the fatty real Chinese take out - you know, when you want to be bad but you know you should be and need to be good?

Realistic Eats Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken, The Light Version

In a dish, mix

1/4 cup sugar (this is down from the 3/4 of a cup the recipe I went off of used. I couldn't justify that much added sugar)
4 tbs ketchup
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder

Mix the sauce together and set aside. Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray and toss in your pieces of chicken, then toss the sauce on the chicken and mix around and place in a single layer. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is sticky and sweet.

Realistic Eats Hibachi Style Fried Rice
In a non-stick skillet, scramble 2-3 eggs and set aside in a bowl.
In the same skillet saute green onions fresh garlic. Once it's lightly browned, add in your precooked rice - about a cup or two, whatever you have on hand. Then toss in your egg. You can add in some shredded carrots here or peas, or just go with onion and garlic. As the rice is steaming warm with the egg and onion, add in 1 T butter and 2-3 tsp. garlic powder. Then add in 2-3 T soy sauce, depending on how much rice you're making. It tastes just like the rice you get at a hibachi restaurant!